UPPER DARBY PA R. w .MARQUIS DIRECTOR - 

POISOXING BARD WOODS 

- ' . I# SOUT8ERdr HEW JERSEY 

4r In recent years nen chemicals for killing 

undesirable moody vegetation have come into use. 

Same of these reed killera have been tested in 

northep hardwoods and scrub oak f n Pe~sylvanfa. I 

. In the Pine Region of southern New Jersey, 

where forest management is generally aimad to ' 

favbr the mare valuable softwoods, undesirable 

hardroods are a serious problem. On the upland 

pine sites, the hardwoods are chiefly oaks. On 

,the 8- sites, where whitecedar is ' the desired . 

species, the hardwoods are red maple, blackgum, 

and' methy. 

Chemical weed killers were tested on a . small scale as a possible means of controlling . 

*5tr mtacrlrcu IYon wo. a : ~yeort 1SW. *no No- 6. ~~T 

I ml . .CLorrmE&srrm Faart Exraa.tWw STAT r or. 

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-, "V 

f . - , < 3 ?
I these hardrrmds. The chemicals tried -re ammate 

and a camercial combinat&on of 2,b-D and 

294s5-Tm 

Amnate was applied both as a solid and in * 

solution. As a solid, the rate of application 

was i: .level tablespoonful of amate crystals for 

1- or 2-inch trees; for larger trees the number 

of tablespoonfuls was figured as diameter 

(breast ,~gh) divided by 2. In solution, 4 

pounds of aemvlte Crystals nek used per gallon* 

of water. 

The 2,h-D and 2,4,5-T combination was tried t

, only in a kerosene solution, 1 part chemical to 

-20 parts kerosene. The solutions nere applied 

as spray. A small (3-gallon) garden sprayer was. 

used. 

ResuLts On Standing Trees 

Solid amrnate was applled to standing trees 

by cutting 'a cup for each tablespoonful. The 

cups were made with two downward ax strokes, one 

above the other, and pry5ng the chip out, The 

cups were 4 to 8 inches above the ground. 

Applied in August, ammate was effective in . killing all three swamp species, All treated 

sweetbays died mthin 1 year; so did their untreated companion sprouts. Treated blackgum 

also died, Nearly all treated red maples died; 

but most of their companion sprouts . showed 

little damage. 

The oaks (black oak, white oak, chestnut 

oak, and post oak) were not so susceptible to 

the poison as the swamp species. Ammate, ap2 
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- - - ;

.. . 

'iI 

I 

pued in July and August, killed 57,percent of ,

.the 3-31 trees treated. The other trses, hmever, 

rem severelg injured. i 

Both poisons were effective in Hlling 

' freshly cut stumps. Of stumps sprayed with 

2,4-D and 2,4,5-T solution, 96 percent had no . - 

.sprouts the following summer. Of the stumps C 

-I, treatedaithanmvrtecrgstals, 87percent failed '' r - 

to sprout. The sprouts that did start from the 

- treated stumps were not vigorous. In contrast, 

98 percent of the untreated stumps spnouted 

vigorously. 

On older stumps (cut 6 to 9 months before), i te was tried (1) in freshly cut cups, (2) on : 

edges of the stump, and (3) in the center bf 

,' the stump. The treatments were tried in July on. ~ 

both recut stumps and undisturbed stumps. 

Applied in freshly cut cups or on the edges 

of recut stumps, &mate killed all or nearly all 

sprouts on more than 90 percent of the stups. 

Double doses on the edges of undisturbed stumps 

were equally effective. Applied to the center 

of the stump, the ammate was far less effectiye, 

a single dose on undisturbed stumps kf lling only 

10 percent of the stools (a stool is a stump ands 

its sprouts). 

Solutions applied ih January to stumps of 

this kind were not very effective. Used in a 

Cornell tool, they killed only 27 percent of the 

treated stools; .used as a basal sprey, 53 per- . 

I cent. Ammate and the 2,&-D and 2,4,5-T cambinatiom were about equal in effect. 
, 

s 30 months .old, double doaw 

s agplied in July to the edgas 

of recut stumps killed 87 percent of the stools, 

and severely injured sprouts on another 10 per- ., 

cent. Foliage sg&iqrs of ammate killed 74 parcent and injured another 24 percent; but they 

also killed most of the pine reproduction iqesr1 spersed among the oak sprouts. 3 ' 

i Cbnclusions 

\ 

For swamp sites, the treatment of standing 

trees with anrmate rnts p~vmising,~ More extensive 

) 

tests seem walrranted, 

For upland sites, the most promising <treatment was the use of amnate crystals on the ems 

of freshly cut stumps. The other effective 

. . treatments were much more costly, 

. In stands containing 540 oaks per acre, 1 1 to 6 inches d.b.h., this treatment cost about 

$10 per acre ($3 for labor at $1 per man-hour + 

$7 for materials, 1950 prises ) . Treatment of 

standing trees cost about $15 per acre (5 more 

1 man-hours). The most effective spray treatment 

with 2,4,-D and 2,4,5-T cost about $Uc per acre J for treating freshly cut strmrps, 

e 

In oak-pine stands less than 40 yea- old, 

which usually sprout vigorously after cutting, ' 

the use of emmete would probably make weedings 

unnacessav. In stands more than 40 years old, : weeding might be cheaper because there are fewer 

? stks per acre and many fail to sprout. I